I THOUGHT I was set on the piano goal. I even ordered two books of sheet music: Best of John Williams and Phantom of the Opera. BUT then I had some time to kill after Social Science CSET on Saturday, so I went into Joann's for some curtain ties... and came out with $230 worth of snuggle flannel for $80. (60% off new cute fabric designs I haven't seen yet! + 10% off total purchase including sale items. Tell me you could resist that??)
The truth is, I am probably going to end up pursuing BOTH of these goals. But for the purpose of this assignment I will report on the baby blankets. I spent some time doing competitor research on Etsy, looking for comparable items, prices, and other sellers' overall trends of success. There are really two types of successful sellers for this type of product: those who keep it relatively simple by creating one listing and then allowing customers to select color options. When the item sells, it automatically renews the same listing, which has major benefits for listing ranking, search exposure, and overall traffic (for example). Chances are she has bolts of fabric in each color on hand and makes the blankets to order. Unfortunately, this is not something I can make work with my existing materials. But it would be a good idea for the future. I know this strategy works, because it is how I have become the top seller for wine cork planters. The other strategy is to go more custom and more detailed, like so. They have the quilts pre-made and each quilt has its own listing. (She actually only has two quilts advertised right now, but it looks like she has had more in the past that have already sold, and she takes in a fair number of custom orders.) This shop has really made a specific niche in terms of colors and style, which is also something that I can't necessarily do right now thanks to my existing materials. Average competitor cost for blankets similar to what I am looking at doing are going for as little as $25 and as much as $60. Since I am not Walmart (nor do I want to be) and I do not yet have an established sales base for blankets, my aim will be to fall somewhere in the low-middle end of that. I need to time out how long it will actually take me to make a blanket set start to finish before I calculate the exact price, but I'm thinking somewhere in the $40 range with low shipping costs. Did you know: slightly higher upfront cost and low shipping creates higher perceived value? People are more willing to pay $42 + $3 shipping than they are to pay $37 + $8 shipping--even for the exact same product. I'll post some pictures of my lovely new fabrics and my specific plans for them next week ;)
4 Comments
Katie Johnson
2/24/2016 06:54:23 pm
This is a nice reflection, Daydree. I like that you connected to your previous experiences, and I really like that you linked to your resources. Have you found any forums yet that could help you learn more. Where did you learn the factoid about paying more for lower shipping costs? That was fascinating! (It's like how they can get us to spell $$$ on things we don't necessarily need just because it's "on sale"...)
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Daydree
5/20/2016 04:40:03 pm
Long before I decided to become a teacher, I used to work in online marketing. A lot of things have changed since then, but perceived value isn't one of them ;)
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Mary
2/24/2016 09:40:37 pm
I like your go-gettedness, Daydree. Sounds like you already know what you're doing...! And I too, love that little factoid about the shipping cost. I shop on eBay and hate paying shipping...I am probably the perfect example of someone who would tricked into paying more for an item because the shipping is cheaper...! Good luck with your endeavor
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Kendal Craig
3/3/2016 09:10:00 am
This 20Time Project makes me super excited! I absolutely love the custom blankets that you linked to in your blog post. Those are so unique and creative. Although they look complicated to make, I know your past experiences will make it a lot easier.
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What is a 20% Project?One of the reasons why Google comes up with the most innovative new technologies is because they allow their employees one day a week (or 20% of their paid time) to pursue their own passions: to work on ANY development that they want. Click to set custom HTML Follow Daydree's board 20% Project on Pinterest.
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